Like his adoptive father, Samuel, Adam is an intelligent and sensible young man with a positive attitude towards women. He is also full of energy and passion, eventually falling in love with Tashi, one of the girls from the Olinka tribe. Having grown up with her like a sister, Adam struggles with Tashi’s decision to undergo the ritual custom of facial scarring and female circumcision. However, unlike other males in the novel who force their women to comply and repress their own gentler instincts, Adam ultimately accepts the depth of his feelings for her (and possibly admires her courage and commitment to honour her heritage).

As a further act of solidarity, he decides to have the tribal scarring done to himself. When the family returns to America, the couple marry and Adam takes the last name of Omatangu, the name of the first African man created. By marrying Tashi and changing his name, Adam symbolically bridges Africa and America, and his respect for his wife and his voluntary deference to her tribal customs indicate a reversal of the patriarchal idea that a woman is subordinate to a man.

English Standard Version

King James Version

1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.3And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.4And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.6And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.7And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.8And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.9And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so.10God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.11And God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth. And it was so.12The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.14And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so.16And God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars.17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.20And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.21So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.24And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds - livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so.25And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.26Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.28And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.29And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.30And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so.31And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.12And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.13And the evening and the morning were the third day.14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.21And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.29And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

English Standard Version

King James Version

1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.2And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.4These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.5When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up - for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,6and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground - 7then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.8And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.9And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.10A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.11The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.12And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.13The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.14And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.15The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.16And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.18Then the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.19Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.20The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.21So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.22And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.23Then the man said, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.24Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.25And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.2And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.3And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.4These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,5And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.6But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.8And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.9And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.10And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.11The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;12And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.13And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.14And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.15And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.18And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.20And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.21And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;22And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.23And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.25And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

The Creation; Fall of humankind and universal or original sin; Noah and the Flood; the call of Abraham (start of salvation history), followed by the stories of the other patriarchs, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.